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Get the Facts – Peace

Humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of the 3,400 years of recorded history, 8% of the time. The U.S. has been at peace for 17 of its 240 years of existence, 7% of the time.

The world spends just $1 on conflict prevention for every $1,885 it spends on military budgets. In the U.S., taxpayers provide almost $1 billion per year for military academies, and only about $40 million for the United States Institute of Peace—the only U.S. agency dedicated to conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

Yet investing early to prevent conflicts from escalating into violent crises is, on average, 60 times more cost effective than intervening once violence erupts.

Between 1990 and 2017, women constituted only 2% of mediators, 8% of negotiators, and 5% of witnesses and signatories in all major peace processes.

Yet when women are included in peace processes, there is a 35% increase in the probability of an agreement lasting at least 15 years.